The play deals with childhood schizophrenia

Kaiya Linkugel, right, is the writer and director of "Names," a play staged entirely by Highlands Park High Schoolers, in Ft. Thomas, Ky., as part of the 2014 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

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FT. THOMAS, KY.—Like others in her playwriting class at Highlands High School, sophomore Kaiya Linkugel thought of it merely as an assignment: Write a 10-minute play.

“I just kept writing and writing,” she said. “I had no idea it would turn into this big play.”

At the urging of the school’s drama teacher, Linkugel entered her play into the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Several other classmates did the same, but only Linkugel’s was chosen. Her play, “Names,” is one of four in the festival’s FringeNext slate, devoted to shows written, produced and performed entirely by high schoolers.

The Cincinnati Fringe Festival, in its 11th year, is a smorgasbord of theater performances staged in multiple venues in Over-The-Rhine that runs through June 7.

“Names” premieres at 7 p.m. Thurs., May 29, with other performances at 6:30 p.m. May 30 and 2:30 p.m. May 31, all at the School for Creative and Performing Arts.

“The whole thing was a huge accident. I really didn’t think my play was that good,” Linkugel said. “I didn’t think it was very original, but (Burgess) said ‘Nothing’s original anymore. What you put into it makes it original.’”

Linkugel’s play deals with childhood schizophrenia through the mind of a pre-teen girl, whose mind conjures a range of friends and not-friends who help her cope with her parents’ fractured marriage. Linkugel, who is directing the production, auditioned about two dozen schoolmates and cast 10 of them, enlisting a couple more to work behind the scenes. Half the proceeds from the Fringe box office go to Linkugel, who plans to divide her take among all involved.

Through theater, in general, and by developing “Names” into a Fringe production, Linkugel said she’s evolved from soft-spoken into a natural leader.

“You don’t want to be mean or bossy, but my friends know this is a show—it’s not friendship time,” she said. “I tend to be a very scatterbrained person, so I’m feeling a lot of emotions at once right now. But I get to see this thing I’ve only seen in my mind come to life in the Fringe, and that’s just an amazing feeling.”